


Carry You Always

by itsallonfire



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Child Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Kinda fluff, basically kya works at the hospital and it gets sad there sometimes, kyalin - Freeform, lo and behold lin has learned how to comfort people, or at least one person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:14:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallonfire/pseuds/itsallonfire
Summary: An upsetting day at work forces Kya's emotions to come out once she gets home. Lin cares for her accordingly.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 12
Kudos: 84





	Carry You Always

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is an angsty little one-shot, mostly to keep my own writing chops up at the moment. I feel like there are so many (really excellent) fics about Lin’s angst and issues, and I wanted to do some exploring of what Kya’s job could be like and how Lin cares for her in the difficult moments.  
> Some content warnings for discussion of hospitals and child death, in case that’s triggering for anyone.

The energy that Kya carried into the house tipped Lin off immediately. She hated to admit that it was so easy to tell, but the aura surrounding Kya’s presence weighed heavily on the rest of the kitchen. Lin winced a little.

“Hey,” Lin greeted her, reaching to place clean dishes in a cabinet. “How was the hospital today?”

Kya hummed an ambiguous response as she hung her bag on a chair by the table. Her hand lingered there. As she rubbed her upper arm, Lin didn’t need any bending skill to notice her fingers trembling. Kya’s eyes stared empty at the center of the table.

“Did you eat?” asked Lin. Both of them were prone to forgetfulness on busy days. Perhaps Kya simply needed a boost of her blood sugar after a full day on her feet. 

A thick swallow, and Kya mumbled, “Yeah. I had dinner.” 

Lin tossed the towel she had been holding onto the counter and turned fully toward her wife. “Kya,” she said, quietly but firmly, clearly the only way she knew how to introduce an offering of consolation. “What’s wrong?”

A small quiver of her chin, and Kya dropped her face to her hands. The loosened hair of her ponytail fell in curtains around her cheeks and obscured the image of her rapid descent into tears.

Lin sighed.  _ Not low blood sugar. _

Crossing the floor, Lin took Kya’s arm and led her to sit. As Lin pulled her own chair around, she cursed herself for not being the comforting wonder that Kya could be whenever she herself was in a poor state. Still, something in her heart stung.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asked quietly.

Kya shook her head quickly, but then dropped her hands in frustration. She smudged tears away from her cheeks and all but choked out, “I didn’t want to cry about it. There were -- There were so many people around.”

The lines in Kya’s palm held onto her tears when Lin took her hand. “Cry about what, love?”

“This -- This little girl.” An attempt at a deep breath was interrupted by a tearful hiccup. “She -- She hit her head, she was playing and she fell and -- I couldn’t do anything.” Kya covered her eyes again. “I couldn’t do anything.”

Before Lin could interject with a soft-spoken apology, Kya whispered, “And her father was there, he was -- he was holding her, he wouldn’t let go of her. And I couldn’t do anything.”

The mess of rambling was halted by another flood. The way that Kya’s hands shook, her fingers spreading the droplets down her cheeks -- not to mention the distress of the story she’d just retold -- all made Lin think her own heart had shattered. She let herself imagine how Kya must have held herself together in the presence of a mourning family, swallowing down grief and guilt.

“I’m sorry, Kya,” was all she could say, leaning her forehead gently against Kya’s temple. “You did what you could. I’m so sorry.”

Kya’s arms came up to wrap around Lin’s shoulders, clinging, as though she’d been desperate for the comfort of her lover’s presence all day. 

Lin couldn’t help but think back to the tragedies she had been on scene for, the people she hadn’t been able to save. Not being able to help a child or animal or parent or friend was impossible to be objectively emotionless about.

She stayed there, rubbing her hands over Kya’s back as she centered herself enough to even her breathing. 

“You’re such a skilled healer,” Lin told her. “You did what you could.”

“I know,” Kya accepted. “I know, but it -- fuck, it’s just so sad.”

With a sigh, Lin kissed Kya’s cheek and said, “How about you go get ready for bed. I’ll bring you some tea, alright?”

Kya nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” 

Lin watched with a deep exhale as Kya disappeared into their bedroom. She heated some water and carefully measured the precise blend of chamomile and lavender that helped Kya get to sleep. When she nudged open the bedroom door, Kya was sitting up against the headboard with her hair fixed up and out of her face again, one hand cupping her own cheek. A book was open in her lap, though her eyes were off somewhere else. One of the straps of her grey tank top was on the verge of slipping from her shoulder.

“Thank you,” said Kya quietly as Lin handed her the cup of tea. 

Lin settled beside her after slipping off her work pants and was glad that Kya leaned in against her shoulder. Lin draped an arm around Kya’s shoulders and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

“You okay?” she asked as Kya sipped her tea.

Kya ran her thumb around the rim of the cup. “I think so.”

Lin brought her other hand around to take hold of Kya’s forearm. “You’re so wonderful, Kya,” she said quietly, as if such information might be too much for the low heaviness of the room. “You’re so skilled and caring and I’m so proud of everything you do.”

Lin watched Kya’s eyes grow watery for a second. The waterbender set her mug on the nightstand and turned back to nestle herself tightly against Lin’s torso.

“Thank you, honey,” said Kya, voice tinged with the increased pitch of tearfulness. “You’re so good to me.”

“I love you,” said Lin. “I want to help you feel better.”

Kya shut her eyes as she turned her head to land a kiss on Lin’s sternum. “I love you, too.”

“Let’s go to sleep, love.” Lin rubbed her hand up and down Kya’s arm. “You need to rest.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Kya switched off the light and returned to the warm reassurance of Lin’s arms. The feeling of her head on Lin’s chest helped ease the remaining tension in her temples. Lin pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze, wishing there was some way that she could banish all the sadness and stress and worry that lingered in her wife’s mind.

Perhaps a few kisses and loving touches would be enough until the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment or some kudos if you enjoyed this lil piece.  
> I will be writing some things for the ATLA Winter Femslash Week, so look out for that :)


End file.
